News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
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VIDEO REPORT: Go Eco Phuket scrambles to remove fishing net at top dive site
PHUKET: Local marine conservation group Go Eco Phuket on Friday launched two dive boats in an emergency procedure to remove a fishing net at one of Phuket’s top dive destinations, Shark Point. At a Go Eco Phuket meeting last week, in preparation for the group’s annual massive reef and beach cleanup (story here), local dive company Sea Bees revealed video…
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Thai skipper sails Sansiri into the lead at TRANSPAC
PHUKET: The 2013 Transpacific Yacht Race (TRANSPAC) started in perfect Southern California conditions on Monday July 8 with Thai entry Sansiri in the first of three starts in a westerly breeze of 15 knots. Co-skippered by Michael Spies and Thai sailor Patinyakorn Bunranrom, the five-strong crew on Sansiri are the first ever Thai entry in a global Ocean Race and…
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Stalemate edges Phuket FC into fifth
PHUKET: The Islanders moved into fifth place of the 18-team Yamaha League One thanks to a goalless draw with second placed team, PTT Rayong on Saturday evening at Surakul Stadium, Phuket Town. Actual play only lasted 40 minutes, as this was the conclusion to the game abandoned on June 9 due to rainstorms over Phuket forced the match officials to…
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Two more suspects sought in Phuket attack on Malaysian royal bodyguard
PHUKET: The five people accused of attacking a Malaysian royal family bodyguard in Patong in May continue to be held in Phuket as police pursue two additional suspects. “The court has issued arrest warrants for two Malaysian suspects,” said Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Arun Kaewvatee. “We have sent the warrants to Malaysian police, who are searching for them,” he…
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Special Report: Rice smugglers hitch ride on Thai pledge-price profiteering
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rice smugglers hitching ride on pledge-price profiteering Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Hidden in 18-wheeler trucks, carts and pickup vans, hundreds of thousands of tonnes of rice are being smuggled from Cambodia and Myanmar into Thailand, although the country holds enough stocks to meet half the world’s annual…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Obama calls for calm in Zimmerman protests; Thein Sein in UK; Uganda fears refugee crisis; Italian lawmaker becomes monkey man; Aussie gored in Pamps bull run
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama calls for calm after Zimmerman acquittal; protests held Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: U.S. President Barack Obama called for calm on Sunday after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of black teenager Trayvon Martin, as hundreds of civil rights demonstrators turned out at rallies…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Farmer credit fails; DSI ups Nenkham hunt; Cabinet to tackle violent oil palm land grab
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Credit cards fail to win over farmers The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Launched two years ago, the farmers’ credit-card scheme has proved to be anything but a success. As of June, only about Bt10 billion of credit was outstanding in the first phase from the…
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Phuket Opinion: Keeping Chinese tourists safe by certifying more guides
Chaifu Saelee, 43, is a Chiang Mai native with a diploma in tourism from Srinakharinwirot University in Bangkok. He worked as an interpreter for two years before joining Phuket Huang Tai Tour as a guide. He is now a guide with Phuket Super Holiday Travel. Here, he talks about how to increase safety for Chinese tourists in Phuket by helping…
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Phuket Opinion: It doesn’t hurt to give
PHUKET: On this lovely island renowned for its wonderful spas, the place I’ve felt most pampered is not one. It’s the sleek and modern Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) next to the employment office, staffed by professionals delivering five-star service to those of us who give about 45 minutes of our time and about 10 per cent of our blood.…
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Phuket top province for Dengue Fever outbreak
PHUKET: Phuket is now listed as the highest ranking province in Thailand for Dengue Fever outbreaks, Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) Deputy Chief Dr Krit Sakulpat confirmed to the Phuket Gazete today. Despite the ranking, there is no reason to panic, said Dr Krit. “For the statistic, the number of patients is divided by the registered population, which in Phuket…
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Phuket Poll: Chalong underpass: six routes diverge in chaos and I choose”¦ eh, um, err….
PHUKET: Underpasses are the new mega-project craze on Phuket as officials scramble to find long-term solutions to the island’s mounting traffic congestion. Work is already well underway for Phuket’s first underpass at the Darasamuth Intersection in front of the Central Festival Phuket shopping mall, which was started on November 23 last year (story here). The newest addition to several underpass…
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DSI denounces con artists’ use of department name to squeeze criminals for “protection money’
PHUKET: The Department of Special Investigation denied providing “protection services” for illegal businesses in a notification released yesterday, which claimed that con artists in Phuket were using the department’s name to squeeze people for protection money. “We received reports that there are people using the DSI’s name to collect money from business owners who are involved in the illegal employment…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Army will not meddle in politics; Ramadan peace push; Monk to return with “bigger greatness”
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Army will have nothing to do with Thaksin return: Thanasak The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Supreme Commander General Thanasak Pratimapakorn said yesterday that the issue of whether former PM Thaksin Shinawatra will be allowed to return as a free man was not up to the…
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Junior Phuket Raceweek set to ‘come of age’
PHUKET: Junior Phuket Raceweek is set to take place Saturday, July 20 off Phuket’s Southeast coast. Sister event to its bigger brother Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek, which celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year, Junior Phuket Raceweek gives budding young sailors an opportunity to race in an international-standard regatta. “There are limited competitive sailing opportunities for youngsters on Phuket, and…
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Phuket Sports: Twenty20 season opener sees old rivalries resumed
PHUKET: THE Outrigger T20 league kicked off at the ACG cricket ground last Sunday with an action-packed double header. In the first match, The Village took on last season’s finalists Island Cricket Club (ICC) while the second match saw defending champions Laguna take on arch rivals Patong. After a disappointing showing in the recently completed senior league season, the Village…
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Phuket Airport Express bus ready to roll on July 19
PHUKET: In what seems to be the last shuffle of dates for the launch of the long-awaited Phuket Airport Express bus service, wheels are now to be rolling by July 19, operator Prakob Panyawai confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. “The airport buses will be ready to run on July 19. We thought we could start on July 15, but we…
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Phuket Poll: blimp takes back seat to light-rail system
PHUKET: In response to the 2.6 billion baht that remains unaccounted for after Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi last month confirmed that Phuket will not be bestowed an International Convention and Exhibition Center “unless they vote for Pheu Thai” (story here) – readers of the Phuket Gazette have opted to have a light-rail system built instead. The latest Phuket Gazette…
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Swiss man breaks leg in fall from motorcycle
PHUKET: A Swiss man is recovering well following surgery after a motorcycle accident in Thalang yesterday afternoon. Carlo Somaini, 54, was about 300m north of the Heroine’s Monument riding north on Thepkrasattri Road when a motorbike emerged from a soi in front of him. “He was startled,” said Thalang Police officer Thani Petchswee. “He tried to avoid the motorbike, and…
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Phuket mother in debt sells daughter for sex
PHUKET: Phuket police yesterday arrested a mother for selling her daughter for sex. Upon learning that a karaoke bar on Kwang Road in Wichit (map here) was offering sexual services to its customers, police staged a sting operation. “An undercover policeman arranged to purchase sex from a 14-year-old girl in the bar for 3,000 baht,” said Wichit Police officer Passakorn…
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Thailand’s Human Rights Commission silent on Rohingya shootings
PHUKET: Thailand’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) yesterday told the Phuket Gazette they were “unable to report” on their own investigation into reports of Royal Thai Navy sailors opening fire on a boatload of Rohingya, allegedly killing at least two of the refugees, in February. The news comes four months after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised the international press the allegations…
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Woman rescued two hours after fall from Phuket bridge
PHUKET: A 43-year-old woman was rescued from the fast-flowing water in the channel separating Phuket from the mainland two hours after she was seen standing at the railing of Thao Thepkrasattri Bridge. Rescue workers and Tah Chat Chai Police rushed to the scene soon after 10pm, when villagers reported seeing a woman stop her car halfway across Thao Thepkrasattri Bridge…
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Phuket’s bulging market
PHUKET: In the latest drive to promote the island’s medical tourism industry, Bangkok Hospital Phuket (BHP) recently held an innovative “boob job” seminar. Entitled ” Breast Augmentation Using Contour Profile Gel Implant Live Surgery Workshop”, the seminar was attended by some 25 cosmetic surgeons from Asia Pacific countries, especially Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines Dr. Narongrit Havarungsi, BHP director,…
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Low Cost Carriers: Save us from safety savings
PHUKET: Dying in an airplane crash is not exactly my idea of heading off into the hereafter with a veritable big bang. Much less trying to escape from a burning plane about to explode in a widescreen Bruce Willis Die Hard epic. But perhaps let me wind this back a little to pre-Grantville. Last Thursday, a last minute business meeting…
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Trail cold but Phuket mother still hopes to meet daughter missing since 2011
PHUKET: A girl who seemed to have vanished into thin air after a Facebook session in Phuket Town in December 2011 remains missing, confirmed Chalong Police. The girl, Samudchaya “Nong Pin” Yanpunya, was 12 years old at the time of her disappearance (story here). “I transferred the case to the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok before I was transferred to…
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Call for A- blood after Brit expat suffers motorbike crash head injury
PHUKET: The Phuket blood bank at Vachira Phuket Hospital is calling for donations of A- blood following an operation on British national Marc Harrington yesterday. Mr Harrington, 66, was admitted to hospital for a head injury sustained in a motorbike accident in Phuket on June 22. “He underwent an operation yesterday, in which we needed to use A- blood. He…
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Severe coral damage prompts DNP to limit dive tourists to Phi Phi Island
PHUKET: Coral reefs at the popular marine national park that covers the famous Phi Phi Islands near Phuket have reached a severe level of degradation due to bleaching, a senior government official revealed yesterday.“Bleaching has affected up to 70 per cent of the coral reefs around Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park. Of the affected corals, 47.52 per…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Ramadan peace blown; Credit Union chief got B3bn; PM Yingluck in show of solidarity; Vietnam cat smuggler nabbed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Blast in Yala injures eight soldiers The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Eight soldiers were slightly wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Yala’s Raman district yesterday and authorities believe an insurgent group led by Saifulloh Balor might be behind the attack.Even though it was agreed at the…
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Phuket beauty salon owner overwhelmed by debt, found dead
PHUKET: The 28-year-old owner of a Phuket beauty salon is believed to have committed suicide due to the stress of overwhelming debt. Local residents spotted the body of Dussadee Ngoy-phutorn, from Sakon Nakhon, in a lagoon behind Phuket Rajabhat University (map here) at 7:20am today. Ms Dussadee, owner of the My Mint beauty salon in Samkong, Phuket Town, was last…
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Islander’s Thai FA cup hopes crushed by Muang Thong
PHUKET: The Islanders Thai FA Cup dream came to an abrupt halt last night as they were knocked out 5-0 by current Thai Premier League champions Muang Thong United. The round 16 match was played north of Bangkok at Muang Thong’s 15,000 seat SCG Stadium. The first half finished scoreless, but Mario Djurovski put the home team 1-0 up straight…
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Go Eco Phuket gets going
PHUKET: After hosting the world’s largest underwater cleanup last year, local marine conservation group Go Eco Phuket and the Thai Government are joining forces again this year to break last year’s record by garnering support from over 1,000 participants for the reef and beach cleanup in honor of HM Queen Sirikit’s 81st birthday on August 12. The day after Her…
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